The Shady Side Of Kick

Since its launch in 2011, Twitch has steadily drawn more and more streamers and viewers to its website and ultimately become the titan of a service that it is today. That being said, Twitch is not the only streaming platform that has gained a large following. While still relatively new in the industry, having only launched in 2022, the streaming service known as Kick has gained a massive following of new and notable streamers. Supported by popular names such as Tyler "Trainswreck" Niknam, Kick aims to provide a streamer-friendly service that allows for all users to stream while making a reasonable profit. 

That being said, Kick has not been free of its own problems, garnering a good bit of speculation about how it is monitored. The platform's support of gambling streams, signing of controversial figures, and a perceived lack of oversight regarding its content have created a far shadier side to this potential rival for Twitch.

Though giveaways, raffles, and many other games of chance have long been hosted by streamers as a form of crowd interaction, many streamers and viewers see gambling as a particular moral problem in the streaming community. The concern is that displaying such content might encourage viewers –- many of whom are teenagers or younger –- to partake in websites and services that are geared towards parting them with their money. As such, Kick's allowance and encouragement of gambling has been seen as an enormous red flag for some.

Back at it again soon on @KickStreaming 😁

We've increased the @Stake weekly raffle to $75,000 and the @StakeUsa giveaway has also increased to 250M GC + Free 25K SC. https://t.co/MqFLvIKoeP at 12:30pm GMT⏱

— Eddie (@StakeEddie) February 4, 2023

Of course, the worries regarding gambling on the platform have only been reinforced for some by the fact that Kick co-founder Eddie Craven also owns of Stake, an online gambling platform. Craven often advertises his own gambling streams on social media, offering free plays and many other Stake services to those who check out the streams. This kind of synergy between Craven's businesses is only natural, but it has raised concerns among some members of the streaming community. 

In response to Stake's deep ties to Kick, Cara Nicole — A YouTuber with a channel focused on financial education boasting over 100 thousand subscribers — stated, "The internet [allows] kids to be exposed to gambling at a young age. Livestreaming then went and exacerbated that, and now we see Kick making that connection stronger than ever."

Since its creation, Kick has been praised for the ways in which streamers can remain mostly independent. Most notably, streamers have the ability to earn a good bit of money through the streaming platform, even when just starting out. While Twitch has traditionally kept a 50/50 split of subscriber revenue, Kick has allowed for its creators to keep 95% percent of their subscriber earnings and 100% of the tips they receive. Streamers like Trainswreck have argued that this fact alone makes Kick a more viable option. The promise of financial independence on Kick was only made more enticing when Twitch briefly made its ad policies more restrictive in July 2023.

However, Kick's looser policies and larger emphasis on streamer independence has also given rise to concerns over how the streaming service is moderated. For those voicing these concerns, incidents such as the website's lax response to creators like Adin Ross — who broke the site's rules by displaying adult content over his streams — have provided ample evidence for their case. This has only been reinforced through Kick continually offering a platform to streamers who have drawn controversy on other platforms, despite Eddie Craven labeling streamers like the aforementioned Adin Ross as potential "brand risks." 

This has led some critics to beg the question: If large streamers who draw in crowds and attention to the site are able to violate Kick's rules and receive little more than a slap on the wrist, then what are the website's actual limits? Trainwreck has promised that Kick won't be like the "wild wild west" going forward, and critics hope that is indeed true.

This brings us to the divisive signing of Adin Ross. Even before joining Kick, Adin Ross has been steeped in controversy. Whether it be through saying homophobic slurs while on stream or idolizing controversial figures like Andrew Tate, Adin has often found himself on the receiving end of viewer backlash and Twitch suspensions ranging from 24 hours to two weeks. This culminated in February 2023 when Adin announced that he would be leaving Twitch for Kick, accusing the former platform of targeting him. Adin Ross' channel was subsequently permanently banned by Twitch — as he puts it, for "no reason" at all. In a subsequent Kick stream, Ross went on to theorize about why he might have been banned, but offered few concrete explanations. 

Despite this ban, Adin was able to quickly establish himself as a major player on Kick, where he currently boasts a follower count of over 600 thousand. Despite this rapid regrowth, the streamer has seemingly not been able to shake his habit of kickstarting controversies or breaking Kick's already lenient TOS. In February, shortly after his Twitch permaban, Adin Ross quickly received a 24-hour suspension on Kick for streaming Pornhub to his audience. A similar incident then occurred in a stream at the beginning of August 2023, when Adin again broadcast racy content from his computer.

In March 2023, Adin Ross was one of a handful of creators who streamed the Super Bowl to his viewers as a way to bring attention to his channel. After the event, there was a lot of worry from the streamer's fans as to whether any legal action would be taken against the platform, since Adin Ross did not seem to have permission from the NFL to share the broadcast. Fortunately for Adin and Kick, no action has been filed against either party. 

In an interview with Jake Lucky regarding the matter, Jake asked Adin and Trainwreck what Kick's stance on the matter was, with the latter saying that anyone breaking DMCA law will be punished and implying that Adin had gotten special permission to stream the event. However, when Jake further asked if Trainwreck could explain what kind of deal Adin may have had, all he could reply with was a simple "no." 

Adin Ross and Trainwreck discuss the streaming of the Super Bowl on Kick pic.twitter.com/WmWXBlIelt

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) March 2, 2023

In June 2023, xQc was given a pinned warning by Kick moderators after streaming the movie "The Dark Knight." However, this warning from Kick has seemingly not deterred the streamer from continuing to stream shows with his audience. Just a day after receiving the "Dark Knight" warning from Kick, xQc assured fans that he was still going to stream and react to "Breaking Bad." Since then, many have questioned what potential consequences, if any, will be enforced for those who break licensing agreements in the future.

Much like Adin Ross, Felix "xQc" Lengyel has been known to carry a bit of controversy behind him. With the streamer's occasionally volatile reputation and Kick's lenient TOS  in mind, many were shocked when xQc was offered a non-exclusive, $100 million dollar to stream on Kick. Australian streamer Mathil claimed that xQc was "selling his fans out for another few zeros" by taking the deal, citing the website's encouragement of gambling as a major concern.

While some streamers were concerned with xQc joining Kick due to his history and influence on his fans, major players such as HasanAbi and Pokimane had mixed responses about how the deal might affect Twitch itself. In Pokimane's case, she argued that Kick was essentially using Twitch's services as a stepping stone to success, referring to Kick's use of Amazon's Interactive Video Service (also used by Twitch). On the other hand, while Hasan also saw this deal as a way for Kick to farm viewers from Twitch, he felt Kick could potentially capitalize on any drama that might ensue from signing one of Twitch's big names. As he noted,  "The reality is ... Twitch will probably ban xQc, there will be a lot of hubbub; there will be a lot of controversy surrounding it."

Both streamers also presumed that xQc joined Kick so he could indulge in more gambling streams. They were quickly proven right: Two months later, xQc broadcast his first Stake-sponsored gambling stream on the platform.

While many streamers, including the aforementioned Pokimane, have expressed a distrust of Kick for its allowance of gambling and its affiliation with Stake, these issues go beyond the moral outcry against gambling-based streams. Some have also shown concern over the currency used to gamble through Stake, cryptocurrency. Aside from some of the environmental concerns associated with cryptocurrency, digital currency has seen its fair share of controversy within the streaming community. In one such example from 2022, former Twitch streamer Abraham "Sliker" Mohammed admitted to conning 200 thousand dollars worth of cryptocurrency from his fans to pay off his gambling debts. Since being banned from Twitch, Sliker has signed to Kick — another move that didn't sit well with many.

Scams like these and a general distrust for crypto has been part of some content creators' decision to refrain from streaming on Kick. Despite this, others including Eddie Craven have seen the popularity of cryptocurrency as quite the boon for Kick. In a tweet posted by Craven in December 2022, two months after Kick launched, he pointed out that Stake had been responsible for a staggeringly large percentage of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin transactions in that month alone.

So far throughout December @stake has been repsonsible for..

– 5.9% of all Bitcoin transactions
– 12.3% of all Dogecoin transactions
– 15.1% of all Litecoin transactions

🤯

— Eddie (@StakeEddie) December 17, 2022

With Kick being touted as the streaming platform to rival Twitch, it makes sense that the website would try to gain traction by acquiring established and popular streamers for its own roster. While all of this recruitment kicked off, however, two streamers were specifically told that they were not allowed to create an account on Kick. In a tweet from June 2023 that has since been deleted, Adin Ross made it clear that fellow streamers HasanAbi and Mizkif were not wanted on Kick, further insulting the two streamers in said tweet. These barbs did not go unnoticed by the two, with Hasan later calling Adin a "gremlin" in a Twitter post discussing both Adin's comments and the changes that Twitch was implementing at the time.

These comments would spark a back-and-forth string of toxicity between the two streamers, which only got more frustrating (and entertaining) when it was revealed that Kick had used Hasan in promotional material. The streamer was seen in an ad for the platform's new option to hide hot tub and gambling-based streams from a user's search results and recommendations. While Hasan seemed to get a laugh of this usage of his likeness, some saw it as a petty move on Kick's part.

at this point kick has promoted me more than twitch lmao https://t.co/59Wm1mu1Nv

— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) July 4, 2023

In the "streamer wars" — a term some have used to refer to the competition between Kick and Twitch, as well as other platforms — it has not been uncommon for Kick to make social media posts promoting its own content while poking fun at Twitch. However, these jokes and posts — which typically parody Twitch's more controversial moments — have also taken a turn towards trolling streamers who have not joined Kick or have been defending Twitch. 

In one instance, Kick joked about Pokimane by making a post with the caption "When Pokimane Catches A Streamer Considering Kick." The clip utilized the "I'm Just Hanging Around" meme template, apparently making light of Pokimane's constant stance of defending Twitch, and how vocal she's been against Kick and its policies. 

These Kick Ads are getting out of control pic.twitter.com/rHUIdxzmr6

— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) July 9, 2023

Despite this, Kick seems to have an interest in Pokimane outside of trolling her. In an interview with the YouTube channel Gamer Update, Eddie Craven revealed he actually wants to have Pokimane join up as a streamer on Kick. "I'll be honest, we really wanted to work with Pokimane," Craven explained. "I don't think she wants to work with us, actually. So we'll see if that changes."